# Indian Predator: Murder In A Courtroom
**Indian Predator: Murder in a Courtroom** is a 2022 Indian true-crime documentary series on Netflix that examines the 2004 lynching of the Nagpur gangster [Akku Yadav](https://www.edgepedia.org/akku-yadav) by residents of the Kasturba Nagar slum, most of them Dalit (members of India's historically oppressed 'untouchable' caste) women, inside a district courtroom. It is the third season of Netflix's *Indian Predator* docuseries, written and directed by the Marathi filmmaker Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni and produced by VICE Studios.[1](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/) • [2](https://anadiathaley.com/series/murder-in-a-courtroom/) All three episodes were released on October 28, 2022.[3](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81610577)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Three-episode documentary series, about 56 minutes per episode, released October 28, 2022[3](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81610577) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/indian-predator-murder-in-a-courtroom) |
| Series position | Season 3 of the *Indian Predator* docuseries, following seasons on Chandrakant Jha and Raja Kolander[1](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/) • [5](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) |
| Director and producer | Written and directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni; produced by VICE Studios[1](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/) • [2](https://anadiathaley.com/series/murder-in-a-courtroom/) |
| Subject case | Lynching of Bharat Kalicharan Yadav (Akku Yadav), 32, in Court No. 7 of the Nagpur District Court on August 13, 2004[6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Decade-after-Akkus-courtroom-murder-all-accused-go-free/articleshow/45104117.cms) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/17/what-drove-200-women-to-stab-a-gangster-to-death-netflix-series-revisits-that-shocked-india) |
| Original audio | Marathi, with dubs and subtitles in English, Hindi, and other Indian languages[8](https://qr.netflix.com/in/title/81610577) |
| Rating | TV-MA in the United States; rated A (adults) in India[3](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81610577) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/indian-predator-murder-in-a-courtroom) |
| Recognition | Winner, Best Non-Fiction, 2023 OTT Series Awards[9](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/indian-predator-murder-in-a-courtroom/1031084918/) |
## Spoilers
### The case behind the series
The documentary revisits a killing that drew international attention. On August 13, 2004, between about 2:30 and 3:00 in the afternoon, residents of Kasturba Nagar gathered outside Courtroom Number 7 of the Nagpur District Court, where Akku Yadav, a local gangster born Bharat Kalicharan Yadav, was scheduled to appear for a bail hearing.[1](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/) Yadav had terrorized the slum for years with murder, rape, and extortion; according to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative report published in 2005, he had been charged in 26 criminal cases by the time of his death, and he had been arrested repeatedly, walking out on bail each time.[10](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/netflix-murder-courtroom-criminal-akku-yadav-kasturba-nagar-women-8279272/lite/) • [11](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/in-lynching-of-alleged-rapist-in-nagpur-court-in-2004-all-accused-let-off-691479)
**The attack.** On August 10, Yadav was produced in the Nagpur court and attempts to attack him were foiled. On August 13 he was brought in from the north verandah of the court campus accompanied by only two police constables, and the iron gates there were bolted. A group estimated at between 200 and 500 people broke through a wooden door and entered the courthouse carrying stones, machetes, glass bottles, and other weapons; the post-mortem recorded 74 injuries on Yadav's body.[10](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/netflix-murder-courtroom-criminal-akku-yadav-kasturba-nagar-women-8279272/lite/) NDTV reported that he died of 70 stab wounds after being attacked with knives, stones, and chili powder by a group that included his alleged rape victims.[11](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/in-lynching-of-alleged-rapist-in-nagpur-court-in-2004-all-accused-let-off-691479) Reports on the size and composition of the mob vary: contemporary reporting described a crowd comprising mainly women, and later accounts put the number of women involved at around 200, while the Scroll review notes that initial reports of about 50 participants grew to "hundreds" as the incident became urban legend.[12](https://www.rediff.com/news/report/nag/20040814.htm) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/17/what-drove-200-women-to-stab-a-gangster-to-death-netflix-series-revisits-that-shocked-india) • [5](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta)
**The aftermath.** Police first detained five women from Kasturba Nagar and released them after protests, in which women came forward daring the police to arrest every one of them; lawyers campaigned for the detainees to be treated as victims rather than accused. Twenty-one people, including elderly women, were eventually arrested by the Jaripatka police on charges including murder and rioting, and the case was handed to the Crime Investigation Department, with a chargesheet presented in court on December 7, 2004.[11](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/in-lynching-of-alleged-rapist-in-nagpur-court-in-2004-all-accused-let-off-691479) • [10](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/netflix-murder-courtroom-criminal-akku-yadav-kasturba-nagar-women-8279272/lite/) The trial began on August 23, 2012. Three of the 21 accused died during the trial, and on November 10, 2014, the District and Sessions Court in Nagpur acquitted the remaining 18 for want of clinching evidence, finding the police eyewitness accounts unreliable and describing the Jaripatka police as "hand-in-glove" with Yadav.[13](https://www.nagpurtoday.in/all-accused-in-sensational-akku-yadav-murder-case-acquitted-for-want-of-clinching-evidence/) • [6](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Decade-after-Akkus-courtroom-murder-all-accused-go-free/articleshow/45104117.cms)
### Content and structure
The series traces what VICE describes as the slow burn that led to the lynching, and serves as a record of the accounts of Kasturba Nagar residents who survived Yadav's rule.[1](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/) Netflix's episode summaries run from the courtroom murder and the investigation around a group of women, through a decade of fear under Yadav and his gang and the woman who decided to stand up to him, to the community's plot, hatched with little help from the police.[8](https://qr.netflix.com/in/title/81610577)
The documentary includes interviews with Yadav's friends, his family lawyer, journalists, and the man who was shackled to Yadav as he was being hacked to death.[5](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) Among the people featured is Resha Raut, sister of Asha Bhagat, whom Yadav killed in 1999 in front of her 14-year-old daughter after she confronted him about his crimes; the lawyer and co-accused Vilas Bhande also appears.[1](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/) The series raises the question of who the real killers were, the women Yadav preyed on or rival gang members working under the guise of mob justice, and it notes the caste dimension of the case: Yadav, an upper-caste man, committed his crimes largely against Dalit residents with few consequences.[5](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) • [1](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/)
Reenacted scenes portray Yadav's antecedents and his reign of terror, including a sequence in which two women from the slum act out their unsuccessful plan to kill him. The recurring line "It's all true, it's all false" serves as both a disclaimer for the episodes and a comment on the true-crime genre itself.[5](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta)
## Production
The series was written and directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, a Marathi filmmaker whose earlier films include *Valu*, *Vihir*, and *Deool*. It was edited by Monisha R Baldawa with Anadi Athaley as co-editor, and produced by VICE Media.[5](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) • [2](https://anadiathaley.com/series/murder-in-a-courtroom/) Nidhi Salian served as creative producer and head of research.[1](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/) Actors portray the principals: Happy Kalizpuria as Akku Yadav, Lajari Kale as Usha Narayane, and Shubham Ugale as Vilas Bhande.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/indian-predator-murder-in-a-courtroom)
## Reception
Scroll.in called *Murder in a Courtroom* the meatiest entry in the *Indian Predator* series to that point, crediting Kulkarni's empathy toward the slum-dwellers, while noting that the show is more interested in crediting the women for their vigilantism than in exploring the lynching's aftermath.[5](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta) The series holds a 7.1 rating on IMDb based on about 1,000 user votes.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/indian-predator-murder-in-a-courtroom) It won the Best Non-Fiction award at the 2023 OTT Series Awards.[9](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/indian-predator-murder-in-a-courtroom/1031084918/) The underlying case had earlier inspired the 2021 film *200 – Halla Ho*, starring Rinku Rajguru and [Amol Palekar](https://www.edgepedia.org/amol-palekar).[5](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta)
## References
1. [How My Mother Took Revenge on My Sister's Murderer, VICE (November 8, 2022)](https://www.vice.com/en/article/netflix-show-indian-predator-murder-courtroom-true-crime-docuseries/)
2. [Murder in a Courtroom, Anadi Athaley (series credits)](https://anadiathaley.com/series/murder-in-a-courtroom/)
3. [Indian Predator: Murder in a Courtroom, New On Netflix USA](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/81610577)
4. [Indian Predator: Murder in a Courtroom, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/tv-show/indian-predator-murder-in-a-courtroom)
5. [Review: 'Murder in a Courtroom' is the meatiest entry in the 'Indian Predator' true crime series, Scroll.in (October 28, 2022)](https://scroll.in/article/1036092/portraits-of-indias-people-by-a-flemmish-artist-who-lived-on-the-margins-of-18th-century-calcutta)
6. [Decade after Akku's courtroom murder, all accused go free, Times of India (November 11, 2014)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Decade-after-Akkus-courtroom-murder-all-accused-go-free/articleshow/45104117.cms)
7. [What drove 200 women to stab a gangster to death? Netflix series revisits crime that shocked India, The Guardian (November 17, 2022)](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/nov/17/what-drove-200-women-to-stab-a-gangster-to-death-netflix-series-revisits-that-shocked-india)
8. [Indian Predator: Murder in a Courtroom, Netflix official site](https://qr.netflix.com/in/title/81610577)
9. [Indian Predator: Murder in a Courtroom, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/indian-predator-murder-in-a-courtroom/1031084918/)
10. [Netflix's 'Murder in a Courtroom': The story of criminal Akku Yadav and the women of Kasturba Nagar, The Indian Express (November 20, 2022)](https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/netflix-murder-courtroom-criminal-akku-yadav-kasturba-nagar-women-8279272/lite/)
11. [In Lynching of Alleged Rapist in Nagpur Court in 2004, All Accused Let Off, NDTV (November 10, 2014)](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/in-lynching-of-alleged-rapist-in-nagpur-court-in-2004-all-accused-let-off-691479)
12. [Undertrial lynched in court by mob, Rediff.com/PTI (August 14, 2004)](https://www.rediff.com/news/report/nag/20040814.htm)
13. [All accused in sensational Akku Yadav murder case acquitted for want of clinching evidence, Nagpur Today (November 10, 2014)](https://www.nagpurtoday.in/all-accused-in-sensational-akku-yadav-murder-case-acquitted-for-want-of-clinching-evidence/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Unscripted, reality, and web-native series › Documentary, docudrama, and lifestyle series › True crime and investigative docuseries › Premiered 2006 to 2022*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license